BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 393|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 393
Author: Cooley (D)
Amended: 5/24/13 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMM. : 9-0, 6/24/13
AYES: Lieu, Block, Corbett, Galgiani, Hernandez, Hill, Padilla,
Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Emmerson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/29/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Office of Business and Economic Development:
Internet Web site
SOURCE : California Small Business Association
DIGEST : This bill requires the Director of the Governor's
Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to ensure
that Go-Biz's Internet Web site contains information on the fee
requirements and fee schedules of state agencies.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Establishes GO-Biz for the purpose of serving as the lead
state entity for economic strategy and marketing of California
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on issues relating to business development, private sector
investment and economic growth. GO-Biz also serves as the
administrative oversight for the California Business
Investment Service and the Office of the Small Business
Advocate.
2.Provides that the Governor shall ensure the GO-Biz Internet
Web site is user friendly and provides accurate, updated
information. Requires each state agency the Governor
determines has licensing authority to provide accurate updated
information about its licensing requirements. States that a
state agency shall not use the GO-Biz Internet Web site as the
exclusive source of information for the public to access
licensing requirements for that agency. Authorizes the
Governor or his/her designee to impose a reasonable fee, not
to exceed the actual cost to provide the service, as a
condition of accessing information on the GO-Biz Internet Web
site. Requires the Director of GO-Biz to ensure that Go-Biz's
Internet Web site contains specified information on the
licensing, permitting, and registration requirements of state
agencies.
3.Authorizes GO-Biz to coordinate the development of policies
and criteria to ensure that federal grants administered or
directly expended by state government advance statewide
economic goals and objectives. Authorizes GO-Biz to market
the business and investment opportunities available in
California by working in partnership with local, regional,
federal, and other state public and private institutions to
encourage business development and investment in the state.
Authorizes GO-Biz to support small businesses by providing
information about accessing capital, complying with
regulations, and supporting state initiatives that support
small business.
4.Makes legislative findings and declarations that it is in the
public interest to aid, counsel, assist, and protect the
interests of small business concerns in order to preserve free
competitive enterprise and maintain a healthy state economy.
Establishes the Office of Small Business Advocate (OSBA)
within GO-Biz in order to advocate the causes of small
business and to provide small businesses with the information
they need to survive in the marketplace.
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5.Requires OSBA to prepare and submit a written annual report to
the Governor and to the Legislature that describes the
activities and recommendations of OSBA, including an
evaluation of the efforts of state agencies and, where
appropriate, specific departments, that significantly regulate
small businesses to assist minority and other small business
enterprises, and making recommendations that may be
appropriate to assist the development and strengthening of
minority and other small business enterprises.
This bill:
1.Makes technical and clarifying changes.
2.States legislative findings and declarations that:
A. Small business is a cornerstone of California's economy.
B. There are approximately 3.5 million small businesses in
California and they account for 99% of the state's
employers.
C. Nationwide, approximately one-half of all new small
businesses survive five years or more and only one-third
survive longer than 10 years.
1.Requires the GO-Biz Internet Web site to provide a direct link
of all state licensing, permitting, and registration
applications, forms, or other similar documents, where made
available for download, rather than a digital copy of the
information as provided for under existing law.
2.Adds "permitting" or "registration" authority to the criteria
by which a state agency is determined to be required to post
information on the GO-Biz Internet Web site.
Background
Small businesses in California. California small businesses
comprised 96% of the state's 60,000 exporters in 2009, which
accounted for over 44% of total exports in the state.
Nationally, small businesses represented only 31.9% of total
exports. These numbers include the export of only goods and not
services.
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Business owners, with no employees, make up the single largest
component of businesses in California; 2.8 million out of an
estimated 3.5 million firms in 2010. As these businesses grow,
they continue to serve as an important component of California's
dynamic $1.9 trillion economy. Microenterprises, meaning
businesses with less than five employees represent approximately
93% of all businesses in the state, or approximately 3.2 million
of all businesses. Businesses with 99 or less employees
comprise nearly 98% of all businesses and employee approximately
38% of all workers. These non-employer and small employer firms
create jobs, generate taxes, and revitalize communities.
In hard economic times, smaller size businesses often function
as economic engines. In this most recent recession the trend
continued, with the number of nonemployer firms increasing from
2.6 million firms ($137 billion in revenues) for 2008, to 2.8
million firms ($138 billion in revenues) for 2010. In the
post-recession economy, small businesses are expected to become
increasingly important due to their ability to be more flexible
and better suited to meet niche market needs. Their small size,
however, also results in certain challenges in meeting
regulatory requirements, accessing capital, and marketing their
goods and services. According to information provided by the
author's office, small businesses are responsible for paying a
variety of fees to numerous state agencies throughout the year,
depending on the nature of their business and navigating these
fees, in addition to the state's regulatory system in general,
may prove challenging to these businesses with limited
resources.
Comments
According to the author, "Small business is a cornerstone of
California's diverse and vibrant economy, accounting for over
99% of the state's employers and roughly 50% of California's
private-sector employment. Because small businesses often
operate under limited time and resources, removing unnecessary
obstacles from their path to success is essential." The author
adds, that while GO-Biz recently streamlined the application
process for starting a business in California by making the
permits, licenses and registration requirements easily
accessible online, small businesses that are responsible for
paying a variety of fees to numerous agencies throughout the
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year may be at a disadvantage because there is no centralized
location providing them information about fees. The author
believes that this creates an extra burden to small businesses
and hinders their ability to focus on revenue growth and job
creation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/1/13)
California Small Business Association (source)
Associated Builders and Contractors of California
California Business Properties Association
California Business Roundtable
California Chamber of Commerce
California League of Food Processers
California Manufacturers and Technology Association
California Restaurant Association
California Taxpayers Association
Carmichael Chamber of Commerce
Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce
Golden State Builders Exchanges
Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation
National Federation of Independent Business
Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce
Small Business California
United Contractors
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The bill's sponsor, the California
Small Business Association (CSBA), states that providing small
businesses with an online location where they are provided with
information on fee requirements and fee schedules will help
small businesses ensure they pay state fees on time and avoid
fees. CSBA also notes that having an efficient method to
research and pay state fees will allow small businesses to focus
on increasing revenue and providing more jobs to Californians.
According to the California Taxpayers Association, this bill
will increase compliance with regulatory requirements, simplify
the compliance burden on businesses and reduce the
administrative workload of state agencies.
Various Chambers of Commerce note that this bill addresses a
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current system that is tricky to businesses that have limited
time and expertise to navigate the process and may not be able
to comply, resulting in unpaid fees and late charges. These
organizations believe that this bill provides a concise,
accessible Internet Web site for businesses to understand and
plan for the different fees they are faced with.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/29/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez,
Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin,
Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea,
V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Holden, Linder, Vacancy
MW:ej 7/1/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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